<p>Daughter is struggling to make a decision on where to go. So, here again to get some perspectives from those who's been through this.</p>
<p>Things to consider in making the decision.</p>
<p>Intended majors: Physics/Math/ChineseSports: very interested in playing softball</p>
<p>Schools accepted: FandM; Colby, Bates and Colgate. FandM is off the list because they do not offer Chinese. (it would have been nice because they offer merit aid -oh well)</p>
<p>First choice was Colgate but the did not have the same "feel" during re-visit day.</p>
<p>Feels Colby and Bates are too far, both offers what she wants.</p>
<p>I believe that the DIII schools, Colby and Bates, she will be able to adapt to the academics and play more than one sport at the same time. Something she has done throughout HS.</p>
<p>Need to know if you were in my shoes, how would guide your child in making the decision? </p>
<p>What changed in the second visit to Colgate? I would explore that with her- perhaps it was something that really isn't representative of the school. </p>
<p>I don't really know anything about these schools, except F and M, which we visited and hated.</p>
<p>The first visit to Colgate was in the summer with few students on campus. During the re-visit, she found that it was weird that the students were walking alone and not in groups; she found the students and the professors during the panel discussions to be rather "airy" and overall that "feeling" wasn't there. </p>
<p>Yes, it might be just an off day and not representative of the characteristics of the school that day. But that was what I gathered from her. Funny, her dad had saw the same thing with the kids around the campus. Walked away from the panel discussions with the same perspectives as our daughter.</p>
<p>deezee, how serious do you think she is about Bates and Colby being "too far"? Do they feel too far to you, also, or are you okay with the distance? If it's just your D - does the distance seem to make her truly anxious, or is it not really too important?</p>
<p>Unless her feelings about the distance are putting up real red flags for either her or you, I'd let her response to the Colgate revisit put that school out of the running.</p>
<p>You mention her strong interest in playing softball. Has she talked to coaches at both schools? Did she like one coach better than the other? Did she meet any of the other girls or specs? Does one team need her position more than the other? Or does she just want to play club/intramural? Any parent of a kid who plays sports knows that it takes only a second or less to end a sports career (or change it drastically), and that choosing a school based on a sport offers a whole host of pitfalls - but since you said both schools offer the rest of she wants too, you might as well encourage her to use softball as the decider.</p>